Otherworld
by Moo-cow300
Summary: Dictionary definition: an abstract spiritual world beyond earthly reality.


**Author's Note: **Well, here we go. Bleach and all of its characters belong to Tite Kubo. Enjoy!

**To Home**

Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck was a goddess- at least in the heads of the male population of Karakura Town. The female population, or most of it, was green with envy, especially in moments like this, when Nel would be striding purposefully down the street to some distant store for an errand, her hair drifting lightly behind her as the gentle breeze created by her fast pace teased the perfect mane of green. Yes, Nelliel Tu Odelschwank had beautifully tanned skin, irresistible curves, luscious, green hair and shining hazel eyes.

Breezing through the door of the local library, she smiled politely at the bored and forever-angry-looking librarian sitting with both feet propped up on the counter while reading a strange newspaper.

"Hello, Mr. Jacques. How was your day?" Nel greeted the man.

He glanced at her from the paper and snorted, adjusting the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. "Fine. How was _your_ hell of a damn day?"

Any normal person would've been intimidated or offended by the librarian's use of, what many would call, "non-academic language for one who worked in such a well-learned place", but the library of Karakura wasn't what many would even call normal. For one thing, the brutal, punk librarian of whom many assumed to have supposed to still be in school was a magnet to children. Kids of all ages would beg their parents to let them go to the library just to talk to the librarian, Mr. Jacques, and ask to touch his spiky, raven-colored hair and listen to his rough, yet somehow smooth, voice. All in all, he was an odd person; many adults did not believe his claim of being thirty-five, what with his lean, muscular physique, piercing blue eyes, and young, angular face.

"My day? Why, it was absolutely wonderful. School was great and I also got an 'A' in my last midterm for this semester!" Nel beamed happily.

"Hm, congrats," Mr. Jacques tutted, turning a page in his newspaper. "The boss said that there's a book you'll like in the fiction section, number 674.9, Dumas."

"Oh, great! I've been looking for a new book for a while."

The university student gave the librarian a pleasant smile and drifted off to the back of the library to seek out her new book. Mr. Jacques looked up to see Nel disappearing into the forest of bookshelves and sighed.

"Nii-chan, is she the one we're looking for?" a young voice asked from inside workroom behind the checkout counter.

"Mmmhmmm," he hummed in reply. "Just sit tight there, princess, and we'll get you back to where you belong."

"Are you going with me?"

"Maybe."

"Is that a yes or no?"

"Well..."

There was a silence, where the only thing the two people could hear was the distant and very soft humming of an old tune in the back of the library.

"We'll see, princess."

Nel groaned as she sank into the park bench, morning sunlight bathing her in a warm, golden light. It was finally the weekend, and, after returning from her early morning weekend job, she was content with lazing around in the rising sun. The green-haired girl glanced at her modest wristwatch and took note of the time (7:30 A.M.). She'd already finished the book that she'd borrowed from the library a few days ago and was looking for a time when she was free to return it and look for another to read.

"The library doesn't open until nine..." Nel commiserated.

She sighed and looked far across the park, past the garish blue and orange playground, and into the golden trees of the small national park that bordered on to where Nel sat. She admired shafts of light on the ground caused by the gently swaying leaves of the summer trees and watched as a mockingbird darted into the tree branches, hopping among the great boughs of the silver beeches and looking for food. Suddenly, a flash of color caught the young woman's eye: a head of long, bright orange hair bobbed among the trees, tugged along by a tall, wiry figure with an all-black attire.

Suspicious?

Nel thought so as she squinted in an attempt to better her eyesight as to see what was going on. The child (at least, it seemed like a child) stumbled often, and her (possible) captor would catch her every time, growl something at her, and continue at the same pace. The two disappeared past the tree line as Nel fumbled for her cell phone. This situation looked dangerous.

She snuck off after the two, keeping an eye out for any lackeys hiding in the shadows, or the glint of a firearm in the golden sunlight. Nel was able to catch up to the wiry figure and the girl rather quickly, due to the slow pace the taller person had to maintain for the younger one. The duo stopped suddenly in front of a large oak that seemed to grasp onto the sky; its leaves were abnormally large and round and its branches were as thick as Nel's own waist. Tree roots pushed up from the ground to form spectacular twisted formations that ran around the tree like ancient wooden caves, damp and musty. The one the suspicious figure and the girl had stopped in front of was pointing directly to the heart of the oak itself. Without too much of a delay, the girl was ushered inside while the figure stopped and looked around to make sure no one had been following. Nel waited until the taller person stepped inside and was swallowed by the darkness inside the tree root cave before sneaking after them from her hiding spot behind a large tree trunk, cell phone in hand ready to call the police.

Upon entering, Nel shuddered at the chilly air, wearing only her white polo shirt and dark jean work uniform. After a few steps, she heard a rather familiar voice ringing through the cave:

"- sure you stay close to me, okay?"

"Okay."

Nel's heart thudded inside her chest. The voice was rough, but oddly smooth at the same time, deep and very familiar to her mind, the voice of a person she saw nearly every day...

Walking further, she spotted an eerie silver-blue light, like the light of the moon, casting huge shadows on the tree root cave walls. A flight of surprisingly smooth and neat stairs extended down further, and as Nel descended deeper, she saw the back of someone's head get closer and closer.

"Nii-chan-!"

That someone's head turned around quickly and glowing cerulean eyes, narrowed with surprisingly small and cat-like pupils, darted to Nel's face.

"Mr. Jacques?"

"Nel? What the hell're you doin' here?" The librarian growled, stepping between Nel and the little orange-haired girl behind him.

The nineteen-year-old raised an eyebrow at him. "What am _I_ doing here? The better question is, what are _you_ doing here, looking like you kidnapped a child to bring her somewhere like this?"

"It ain't any of your fucking business, "Mr. Jacques hissed venomously," where me and my little sister go

Nel's left eye twitched. Mr. Jacques' cursing and grammar always got worse when he was angry. Suddenly, it was as if a record was scratched to a halt.

"Wait, your _little sister_?" She stared incredulously at the librarian and the small child. "She's your _little sister_?"

"I said so, didn't I?" he snarled. "Now get the hell outta here."

Nel scowled and turned to climb her way back out of the cave. Right when she turned the corner, however, she stopped and stayed there, hiding as she kept an eye on the proceedings between the librarian and his supposed "little sister", straining to hear their voices from where she stood. When looking back on the incident, Nel supposed she was being quite nosy, but at the present, the only thing she was concerned about was the little girl's safety.

"... Now, princess, like I was saying, stay close to me, okay? Don't go any farther than my arms can reach, got it?"

"Yes, I heard you, Nii-chan."

"Good. Remember what I told you yesterday; trust me, and _only_ me. Remember my signature, okay?"

"Okay. Can we go now, Nii-chan? I want to see home."

"Yeah, of course, princess. Hold on tight."

Nel smothered in a gasp of surprise as there was a blinding flash of blue light before the cave walls went back to their dim moonlight glow. She raced down the smoothly carved steps to the chamber where she'd found Mr. Jacques with his little sister and looked wildly about.

The chamber was empty, and no matter how much she looked, she couldn't find the two siblings hiding in the shadows. Shifting her attention to the middle of the room, Nel's eyes widened dramatically at the swirly, icy blue mass of a pool that pulsed gently. Had that been there the whole time...?

Nel's eyebrows furrowed at it. The pool (was it a pool?) glistened and appeared to be the source of the eerie glow. Huh. So where did Mr. Jacques and his little sister go? Curiosity burned at the back of her mind, drawing her closer and closer to the mysterious dip in the cave floor. Suddenly, it felt like something pulled on her leg. Not even getting a chance to scream, Nel was dragged into the pool itself, a flash of brilliant light the only thing signifying her disappearance from the human world.

* * *

**Author's Note: I love these kind of "otherworld" stories.  
**I'd be most delighted to know everyone's opinions on the story. Continuation depends on if I can get my brain to milk out some sort of plot line to properly follow. Constructive criticism is hoped for, as are tips and ideas to improve. Flames will be ignored, so... :D


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